Systematic inquiry

Systematic inquiry involves thorough, methodical, contextually relevant and empirical inquiry into evaluation questions.

Systematic inquiry is one of the guiding principles of the American Evaluation Association:

Systematic Inquiry

Evaluators conduct data-based inquiries that are thorough, methodical, and contextually relevant.

• A1. Adhere to the highest technical standards appropriate to the methods being used while attending to the evaluation's scale and available resources.
• A2. Explore with primary stakeholders the limitations and strengths of the core evaluations questions and the approaches that might be used for answering those questions.
• A3. Communicate methods and approaches accurately, and in sufficient detail, to allow others to understand, interpret, and critique the work.
• A4. Make clear the limitations of the evaluation and its results.
• A5. Discuss in contextually appropriate ways the values, assumptions, theories, methods, results, and analyses that significantly affect the evaluator's interpretations of the findings.
• A6. Carefully consider the ethical implications of the use of emerging technologies in evaluation practice.